1 Chronicles 23 1-1 Chronicles 23 26
Now David was old and full of days; and he made Solomon his son king over Israel.He gathered together all the princes of Israel, with the priests and the Levites.The Levites were counted from thirty years old and upward; and their number by their polls, man by man, was thirty- eight thousand.David said,“ Of these, twenty- four thousand were to oversee the work of Yahweh’s house, six thousand were officers and judges,four thousand were doorkeepers, and four thousand praised Yahweh with the instruments which I made for giving praise.”David divided them into divisions according to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.Of the Gershonites: Ladan and Shimei.The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the chief, Zetham, and Joel, three.The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran, three. These were the heads of the fathers’ households of Ladan.The sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and Beriah. These four were the sons of Shimei.Jahath was the chief, and Zizah the second; but Jeush and Beriah didn’t have many sons; therefore they became a fathers’ house in one reckoning.The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four.The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses; and Aaron was separated, that he should sanctify the most holy things, he and his sons, forever, to burn incense before Yahweh, to minister to him, and to bless in his name, forever.But as for Moses the man of God, his sons were named among the tribe of Levi.The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer.The sons of Gershom: Shebuel the chief.The sons of Eliezer were: Rehabiah the chief; and Eliezer had no other sons; but the sons of Rehabiah were very many.The sons of Izhar: Shelomith the chief.The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the chief, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.The sons of Uzziel: Micah the chief, and Isshiah the second.The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish.Eleazar died, and had no sons, but daughters only: and their brothers the sons of Kish took them as wives.The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth, three.These were the sons of Levi after their fathers’ houses, even the heads of the fathers’ houses of those who were counted individually, in the number of names by their polls, who did the work for the service of Yahweh’s house, from twenty years old and upward.For David said,“ Yahweh, the God of Israel, has given rest to his people; and he dwells in Jerusalem forever.Also the Levites will no longer need to carry the tabernacle and all its vessels for its service.”
Numbers 8:9-26
You shall present the Levites before the Tent of Meeting. You shall assemble the whole congregation of the children of Israel.You shall present the Levites before Yahweh. The children of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites,and Aaron shall offer the Levites before Yahweh for a wave offering on the behalf of the children of Israel, that it may be theirs to do the service of Yahweh.“ The Levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, and you shall offer the one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering to Yahweh, to make atonement for the Levites.You shall set the Levites before Aaron and before his sons, and offer them as a wave offering to Yahweh.Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the children of Israel, and the Levites shall be mine.“ After that, the Levites shall go in to do the service of the Tent of Meeting. You shall cleanse them, and offer them as a wave offering.For they are wholly given to me from among the children of Israel; instead of all who open the womb, even the firstborn of all the children of Israel, I have taken them to me.For all the firstborn among the children of Israel are mine, both man and animal. On the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified them for myself.I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel.I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the service of the children of Israel in the Tent of Meeting, and to make atonement for the children of Israel, so that there will be no plague among the children of Israel when the children of Israel come near to the sanctuary.”Moses, and Aaron, and all the congregation of the children of Israel did so to the Levites. According to all that Yahweh commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so the children of Israel did to them.The Levites purified themselves from sin, and they washed their clothes; and Aaron offered them for a wave offering before Yahweh and Aaron made atonement for them to cleanse them.After that, the Levites went in to do their service in the Tent of Meeting before Aaron and before his sons: as Yahweh had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them.Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,“ This is what is assigned to the Levites: from twenty- five years old and upward they shall go in to wait on the service in the work of the Tent of Meeting;and from the age of fifty years they shall retire from doing the work, and shall serve no more,but shall assist their brothers in the Tent of Meeting, to perform the duty, and shall perform no service. This is how you shall have the Levites do their duties.”